Super Bowl Fly: Still Sore About Kraft's Flirtation With Hartford

Some folks won't forgive Robert Kraft for teasing Hartford way back when

Back in the day there was Air Coryell; now we have Air Belichick. But enough about deflategate. The game is near, but for now, all that surrounds it:

Take that, Mr. Kraft: From Gil Parmele, who is retired from ESPN and often weighs in with interesting thoughts: "Got a kick out of Robert Kraft's 'request' for an apology from Roger Goodell if the NFL's investigation finds that the Patriots did absolutely nothing wrong ... for I don't ever recall his writing an apology to the State of Connecticut for using us as leverage with his successful quest of keeping the Pats north of our border!!!!" ... He also mentions the neat double that the Patriots' Brandon Browner can accomplish: back-to-back Super Bowl titles with different teams.

No drone zone: By the way, the Federal Aviation Administration bans drones from flying over or near NFL regular or postseason football games. The FAA did not mention the Patriots.

Got a spare $22,500? The Seattle Times had an interesting story that says players can get up to 15 tickets but they must pay $1,500 for each. Then they have to figure out which family members and friends get them and if they'll also kick in for air fare, hotels etc. Of course, they can afford it on salary alone. And players get $97,000 for winning this year's game. The losing share is $49,000.

We're No. 1: The Patriots are No. 1 in the Brand Keys Sports Fan Loyalty Index. Sounds like some sort of stock market gizmo. Anyway, the index "provides an apples-to-apples comparison of the intensity with which fans within the team's home market area support their team vs. corresponding values for fans of other teams in that market," says Forbes.

Behind enemy lines: The "Boston Sports Fan Group of Seattle" was founded by Chris Porter, who grew up in New England and moved to Seattle for a job. "It was 1997 when I moved here," Porter said in a story on boston.com. "I went downtown to find a sports bar to watch the game, since out here not all the Patriots' games are on TV. And it started with just me and three or four other Patriots fans." They watch games at a Seattle bar and there are more than 700 members on their Facebook page.

The Bristol Giants: ESPN has seven reporters/analysts in Arizona for its Spanish language coverage.

False alarm: The fire alarm went off in the players' wing of the Patriots team hotel at 2 a.m. Thursday, according to ESPN. Here's what former Jets coach Rex Ryan, now the Bills coach, told Newsday about it. "Let's face it, Belichick probably did it himself," Ryan said. "He's the one that pulled the thing and created a different story. Those things happen. You try to prepare your team in the offseason, training camps and all that kind of stuff. Would you pull a fire alarm or something? You may." He didn't stop there about alarms in team hotels. "Ironically that's happened to us a couple times in New England," Ryan said. "I don't think it's that big a deal unless it's the night before."